Rescue Me
by pendragon94
Summary: One shot. Different take on how things could have gone when the Rattrays attack Sookie, with Eric saving her... sort of.


There is dark water filling my mind, slowing and silencing my thoughts at the same time, before it feels like someone is grabbing my hand. I'm feeling pulled upward, and there's a blond man leaning over me. He's strangely familiar, and I try to feel him out with my light, when I realize exactly what it is. I don't know where I am anymore, as I was certain that I was in the Merlotte's parking lot before the Rats showed up, but now it seemed to be the forest. His mouth moves, and I just stare at my mate's mouth as no sound can be heard, just a ringing in my ears. Leaning in, there's a strange feeling that tingles through me when I feel him against me, and his voice breaks through the white noise I was suddenly feeling.

"You will not live long… would you like to stay with me?" The question is whispered before he leans back and I see that he has fangs, long and gleaming with a dangerous edge. Everything past his head is blurry, and there's only him as I don't even feel afraid, nothing but a sense of safety filling me as I stare at him.

Niall had told me about the possibility, since if we are born on earth, our mates are usually within a hundred mile radius of us. I can feel it in my light, and who would have known that my soul mate would be a vampire? But the truth resonates within me and I accept it.

I don't feel it when I try to nod my head, but I seem to do so as the corners of his mouth twitch into a smile and he's suddenly pressing his lips to my neck. Steel beams for arms are holding me tightly against him, and I feel a small pinch on my skin before an odd pulling sensation. He growls and I realize that my hands are clenched into his back, holding me closer with the last of my strength before my arms fall to my sides.

My eyesight dims as I see him biting into his own wrist, and suddenly a cool thick liquid is pouring down my throat. I choke on it for a second, and his other hand messages my throat just right to help me swallow. A warmth is starting to wash through me now, slowly starting in my chest and spreading outwards as one of my hands grabs onto his. The light inside me is charging itself, and his flesh leaves my mouth just as my fingers unleash the light into him. I grab the bond to drown myself in it before I fall into a deep sleep.

Change to: **Eric's POV**

She is still drinking, and I hold her as she swallows when her hand grasps the wrist feeding her gently and as I pull away from her mouth a blinding light absorbs up my arm and into my chest. It feels like my undead heart is on fire, and I curl her against my chest without thought as I feel a bond igniting between us.

Just before going unconscious she completely relinquishes herself to me, and I feel strange as my first thought is to protect her. Taking deep breathes to scent out the worst of her injuries, I evaluate everything that is broken as I prick my wrist to run my blood over her open wounds.

A new scent enters my nose besides hers, and I snarl as I recognize the scent of Bill Compton on the wind getting closer. "If you are wise, you will leave." I hear the sound of his slow advance as I listen for it, and it silences a second later before I hear him retreating. Despite myself, I am pleased that he didn't push it any further, as I do not wish to set her down or move from her in any way but I would have done so if he hadn't gone.

I thank whatever gods may listen when I find that my phone has a signal enough to send a couple of text messages to Pam as I hold the girl.

It's only a few minutes after Compton left that I hear something else, my senses straining to hear anything in the area. The sound of someone shifting is audible as I'm hyper aware. "Did you kill her?" I hear Sam Merlotte in the distance, him obviously smarter than Bill as he stays far enough away to not feel like a threat to me.

"Not myself, no, but I did indeed turn her as she would not have survived. Those that caused the injuries have already been dispatched."

He's silent for a long time, and it seems that he is debating with himself before he speaks again. "Her name is Sookie Stackhouse. I'm going to leave her purse right here, since you left it behind. I'll break the news to her human grandmother, and you better get ahold of… well you can smell what she is right?"

I snort at his comment, and he takes that as an affirmative. "Niall is her father, she was half and half."

"Was?" I question his use of the past term.

"She disappeared with Niall for a few months, and got back about a year ago. It's in her scent, when she doesn't hide it, that she's more fae now." He says, and I think as I hear what sounds like fabric hitting the ground before he shifts and is running away.

I practically will my phone to work as I call a number that I haven't in a long while.

"Yes?" Godric sounds as indifferent as ever, but I feel him suddenly opening the bond between us and examining my newest connection.

"She's… fuck… my newest child is a _Brigant fae_. I was just informed by a shifter friend of hers."

He calculates my words, and I feel that he is slightly annoyed as he seems to be considering things. "What have you done?" The question is weighted when he asks.

"I sort of saved her, since some degenerate humans attacked her. She's hurt, since she was beaten to death, and it seems she has chosen me as her fairy mate. She shot me with her light before her heart stopped and I'm not a puddle. Instead it created the bond you are sensing. I literally _just_ turned her, so it's not possibly the maker bond." There's some unexplainable feeling coming from him, and his voice is somehow different a second later.

"I am coming." His end hangs up, and I stare at my phone as I process what he just said.

Pam is getting closer, and she appears a few minutes later. Cocking an eyebrow, she looks at the dainty figure in my grip and takes a deep breathe. "She's going to be popular with the boys."

I can feel it when she is surprised as I growl. "She is my mate, and Godric is coming so I need you to stock the house and take care of things while I am busy with your mistress. Her purse is over there, by the shifter scent, so have it placed on the dining room table of my nest. There are two bodies over there that I want to never be found. Do not disturb me with bullshit, and make sure the guest room is prepared for Godric." She takes off without hesitation to do as I told her, and I hold Sookie securely as I float up in the sky and move towards Shreveport at a leisurely pace. Studying her face, I memorize her as I decidedly enjoy the slight weight of her in my arms and the knowing that nothing can touch her as I take us higher.

My hand flicks over the keyboard as I enter the code and the door clicks open, a hydraulic feature securing it behind me as I walk through the kitchen.

Reengaging the security system, I open the downstairs and move before closing us in. I'm just settling her onto the bed in a set of Pam's pajamas which only fit slightly off, freshly bathed and her hair already dried. I'm surprised for a moment when she seems to stir ever so slightly in the bond as I move away from her, and I use my laptop on a desk in the corner to start shopping for clothes for her. Taking her measurements was a simple task, and I feel that Godric is on the move getting closer as I select to have all of the items express delivered the next day at my dayman's house. Sending him a text, he confirms a second later that he will leave the unopened packages inside the door upstairs as soon as they arrive.

Godric arrives just a few minutes before sunset, and I hear him redoing all of the security as he makes his way down into the underground living space. I feel strangely nervous, which is completely unusual as I don't think I've ever felt this towards Godric. A sense to protect runs through me, and I'm standing on the side of the bed a second later blocking her from view before I even know what I'm doing, and my maker comes in a second later. He stops inside the door, looking at me as I stare him down, and he frowns before he chuckles as he seems to think of something. "This, I believe, is the first time you have ever stood against me."

It feels almost like I'm one hundred again, being chastised for sneaking off to haunt around a village, but the feeling passes quickly as he smiles. Godric puts his hand reassuringly on my shoulder as he steps up next to me.

"She is your mate, I can sense it through the bond you have to her. Do you believe that I would ever harm her?" I look at him seriously, and feel through the bond as he admires the girl behind me.

"I apologize, Master, I cannot seem to control the want to protect her."

He gives me a look, before the heel of his hand meets the back of my head, and I rub the spot as he pulls me out to the main room. I'm reluctant to leave her, and stare at her for several seconds before finally closing the door behind me. "You will be possessive, over bearing, and maybe even domineering, depending on how much Sookie lets you get away with."

I eye him carefully. "I have yet to tell you her name."

Nodding, he gives me a small grin as he pours a serving of blood into a glass and moves towards the microwave. "I called Niall on the way here, and asked him what family he had in this area. When he asked why, I told him what you had said, and he told me that she was fated to end up with a vampire from the moment she was born. Do you know what happened twenty eight years ago?" The question is unexpected, and I stare at him for a second as I think it over before my jaw tenses. "Yes. You moved to Shreveport from England after I implored the Queen to open a position to you after you decided to buy property here. That was twenty eight years ago, and Sookie is twenty seven years old. Niall knew this somehow, and pointed it out as proof for what he was telling me. I must admit it is a large coincidence that the girl meant to be your mate was born less than a year after you moved into the area."

"It felt right… when I was holding her, flying here." I say quietly, leaning against the wall to stare straight ahead, and he doesn't move apart from opening the microwave when it silently ends.

"Niall mentioned that you should try to make her laugh. He didn't say why." He's feeling almost mischievous, a lightness entering the tone of the room as he doesn't elaborate further.

"I wonder why that could be." Thinking about it, I wonder what I will do to get a rise out of her once she wakes.

"Rather than dead, it feels more like she is asleep. I know you can still feel her, so I wonder what fae traits she will keep as Niall said she will still have her spark. Apparently, when she shot you with that light she gave you the one time use that all fae have to instantly bond to someone." A smile creeps over his face as he feels my prideful thoughts.

She chose me, above all others as her mate, and just thinking about her makes me want to go back to the bedroom to lie next to her as the sun starts to rise. A new thought occurs to me, and I realize that I will have to keep her as well protected as possible. Her life is mine, and I haven't even heard her speak before yet I am infatuated, and should someone get past me… I realize I am growling loudly when I notice Godric looking at me seriously. "After so long, I believe I know what path of thought you went down." Motioning to a set of boxes I hadn't noticed before, I see four identical ones stacked together in a corner and there's a dark tone to his mind. Something I haven't felt since the last time he was hunting someone down. "Why do you think I quit as Sherriff in Dallas and relocated?"

"What?" I ask, standing straight and turning to face him. His face says it all. He's looking pointedly towards the door behind me in the hallway, where Sookie is lying vulnerable, and I find that his emotions are mirroring mine to a lesser degree. They are also slightly directed at me, but he trusts me to defend myself as I understand, and give him a beaming smile. "I would be pleased to have my maker nesting with me."

"The last thing that Niall mentioned was that we should probably expect her to be a little confused at first. Apparently when a fae dies, their spark is instantly drawn towards the summerlands since their bodies turn to dust, so she will likely be a little disjointed when she awakens. He said that there have been a few fae turned into vampires before, but never willingly. Sookie is the first, and a fae's light when they are in agreement, will do nothing but adapt and grow stronger. She will accept herself as soon as she is thinking clearly, it's just their nature, but she will still be uncertain as she was apparently rather sheltered for a long time. Book smart more than anything." He says, and I take the clinical view that he probably gleamed from Niall, but decide to withhold my own judgement until I meet my child for myself.

Rinsing his glass, he starts moving towards his bedroom. "Niall's last line was rather odd, and I wonder if he wasn't messing with us. He said, 'Don't get the wrong ideas', so I suppose we'll figure what that was about with time."

I'm next to my bonded an instant later, pulling her against my chest as the houses sensor lights turn off after a few minutes, and I feel Godric go to rest a short time later.

It's odd as I sleep through the day, waking up with every little sound in the house, my body stiffening protectively around Sookie with each bump. First it is Pam's day person, which is assumed as I hear her shuffling plastic bags into the fridge, before going into my office and leaving what sounds like Sookie's purse on my desk. A while later I hear Bobby come inside, stacking boxes by the hidden downstairs entrance before leaving quickly. The final time I wake up, I don't know why, but I don't hear anything after several minutes and finally go back to rest holding Sookie a little closer.

At nightfall I rise, my growl soft in the room as I languidly bury my nose in her hair. My fangs drop as I feel the urge to stretch out beneath her, and I embrace her to my chest as I lie on my side. "I cannot wait to meet you." I muse into her ear, and it almost feels like she hears me as she seems to stir. Her mouth twitches into a smile, and suddenly I understand what Niall had told Godric. It's like a spark in my chest when she smiles, something like a mixture of happiness and longing. I'm pleased that I was able to make her smile, and I want to do it again, grinning despite myself as I stare down at her. She's unmoving, the small reaction from her likely a result from her feeling my waking. "One more day." I whisper, planting a kiss to her temple without thought, and then contemplating over what I had just done as I settle her onto the lush fabrics. I make several calls, getting some things out of the way, and then go for a long shower. When I return from the washroom I am only slightly unnerved to unexpectedly see Godric sitting down and using an empty spot on my desk for his laptop, and I'm sure he doesn't miss it as I examine my fae on the bed to see her untouched. His scent confirms that he went from the door straight to where he is now, and I chastise myself for having any doubts as I am reminded that he had said he would protect her.

"What are the plans for tonight?" He asks, not looking at me as he continues to click around.

"Mostly… reading." Frowning, he gives me a long look. "I am not comfortable leaving here." I say simply, checking my phone messages as I pick it up from the bedside table. He looks at me as I start to seethe. "When I sensed Sookie's power nearby, I was drawn straight to her, and dispatched the humans attacking her. After I got us out into the woods and away from the bar parking lot where we were, I scented Compton nearby. He left when I warned him, but it seems that he was living in Bon Temps in order to procure her, and he still believes her to be alive as he told the queen that I stole her. Sophie Annie is not happy with me at all, and demands I release Sookie back to her home in Bon Temps."

His growl surprises me, but what surprises me more is the feeling that clenches my chest as Sookie's emotions rise in the bond with fear and she seems to be pulling me to her. I'm hovering over her in an instant, my phone dropped and forgotten as I answer the silent call that had resonated through the bond. My hand caresses her cheek, and a sense of security seems to calm her as my skin touches hers.

"Well that was interesting." Godric is quiet, watching closely through the maker bond as I sit up on the bed and pull her into my lap. I watch closely as he pulls his phone out of his pocket, and puts the device on the table on speaker as he places a call.

"Who is this?" I want to growl as I recognize Sophie Anne's annoying voice.

"Godric."

Silence rings through the line for a second before her tone is much more reserved. "You are Northman's maker?"

"Yes. What business do you have with his?" His voice is clipped, and I grin, imagining her face.

"The girl he possesses was to be procured for my court by William Compton. He was impeded in doing so when your child stepped in the way." Her voice is as shrill as ever.

"My child approached a human, with no marks or scent on her but her own, and the human consented. If Mr. Compton was indeed seeking to claim the girl, then he should have done so, and you cannot blame us for his lack in doing so quickly. For another thing, you sent a vampire with a purpose into your Sheriff's area without even informing him, and you can be assured that I will be reporting you to the authority for this discretion. We both know that procurement was outlawed at the time of the great reveal anyway, so it is my duty to at least bring this to the attention of the Magister."

"You are newly resided in my kingdom, Godric, are you already plotting to commit treason?"

His tone is icy, and I'm sure she hears it. "If you pursue the girl, I can swear to you that there will be no treason, as you will no longer be the ruler of this state. Do not test me, child queen." That remark in particular has to sting as he ends the call and starts another, giving me a wide grin as he glances at Sookie, his previous temper having evaporated in an instant.

"Good evening Godric, early rising I see." The Magister comments as he answers, and it sounds like he has just risen himself and is ruffling through clothes. "What a coincidence that you would call, as I was planning to visit you soon. You are residing with your child, I presume, since you relocated?"

"As always." There's a lightness to his tone that I don't hear often, and I recall that he had mentioned being well acquainted with the man who was to become Magister several hundred years ago. "I'm actually calling because your services as Magister are to be needed, since I have attained evidence that the queen of this state has been procuring humans. She has tried to order us to release the newly turned child of Eric, who has yet to even wake. The conversation was recorded, so when should I expect you?"

There's almost an upbeat tone to the Magister's tone a second later. "Oh this will be a lovely visit then. When will the child rise?"

"Tomorrow night, and I must inform you that she is… different." Godric looks at me, and I consider it before nodding, deciding that if my maker trusts him then so shall I. "She is the daughter of Niall Brigant."

"She was willing? You are certain?" He says quietly, and Godric doesn't hesitate to answer.

"Of course. She was near dead, and shot Eric with her light, bonding to him rather than killing him when he got close to her. He is her chosen mate." There's a hush on the other end as it sounds like the phone is set down.

"Alright then, very good. As long as she was willing, then there shouldn't be any problems with the authority. I will file the appropriate paperwork for your child, if you have her information?"

Looking to me, Godric gives me a feeling telling me to go ahead and speak. "On my desk upstairs should be her purse." He's gone and back as fast as possible, and I see he has her wallet in his hand a second later.

"Sookie Stackhouse. Blond hair, brown eyes, standing at five foot three and one hundred and twenty pounds. Born human May 24th, 1983, and turned vampire yesterday by Eric. Her last name should also be Northman, considering she was bonded before turning, and she will have Eric's address." He puts the things back in the bag, and Dominic confirms he will file the papers before he arrives here tomorrow, then hangs up.

"I feel she is going to be well liked." Godric says absentmindedly after he stares at me for a minute.

It's a simple phrase, the words nothing I haven't heard before, but somehow it feels different. Something about the protective indifference he holds for her makes me happy, and I smile slightly as I stare down at her, a strange flutter in my chest. I can feel my maker watching me, but I don't care, enjoying the company of my newfound obsession.

We don't leave the house, staying on the underground floor while I make sporadic phone calls and leaf through books I have that mention fae. Pam shows up a few hours before sunrise, and lets herself in.

It's strange when she approaches the bedroom, and I almost snarl, for some reason not wanting her to get near Sookie. Sweeping those feelings aside, I hear Godric stopping her outside the door before she can enter. "Pamela, we both know that you have been a vengeful, jealous and scornful vampire before. But she is not just another feed and fuck that Eric is going to show more attention to for only a few days, this is his mate, and he will never turn his back on her. Should you try to harm her for some jealous revenge at any time, then I will not hesitate to end you, no matter how much it may upset Eric. He would survive the loss of you as long as Sookie is still with him, because without her, he won't survive anything now." He drives his point home, and I feel it in the maker bond as she is unsettled, but I am happy when I feel her steel herself to be as open minded as possible.

I'm surprised when she comes in carrying the boxes of clothes that I had ordered for Sookie, and she gives me a long meaningful look before moving towards the closet. "Let's see what sort of taste a thousand year old Viking has." She taunts, moving across the room, and I grin amusedly when she appraises Sookie in my hold and finds her acceptable.

"Not bad." Her last judgement is passed as she's spent the last twenty minutes unwrapping and commenting on the clothes that she finds neatly boxed.

I'm still beside Sookie on the bed, and move to lay her next to me gently before standing and grabbing my wallet to pull out a business card.

"Hello?" He answers on the second ring, not sure as he doesn't recognize my number.

"Hello Alcide."

"Ah shit, what now? Did the old man show up at the casino again?" There's almost an anger to his voice as he considers being in more debt.

"Not to my knowledge, although I will check." I flick my eyes to Pam, and she feels it as I dismiss her while also pushing her to look into that. "I have a job for you, and I want your best work, since I will be paying you an exorbitant amount."

"What is it?" He sounds cautious but I know he's looking for work as the season is slowing down. He and his crew could take the winter off if they do the job right, and I considering throwing in a bonus if it's complete in a timely manner.

"The Stackhouse residence in Bon Temps. I want it fully updated and outfitted with a very subtle security system as well as an alert system in case the old woman who lives there ever needs help while she's alone. Use your imagination, and just restore the place without changing as much as possible. Ms. Stackhouse may pick anything she wants, with your help, and you will invoice me with receipts for those purchases." I start adding things up in my head for an estimate.

"Can I ask why you're doing all this for an old woman?" He is uncertain, since he doesn't usually get interested enough to ask these sort of questions.

"I suppose, although I would prefer you keeping this information to yourself for the short time until it is revealed publicly. The old woman is the grandmother of the woman I have taken as my bonded, and child, who has yet to rise. I've been speaking to her former boss, and she fully supported her elder, who cannot afford the repairs that the old farmhouse needs. According to Merlotte, the shifter, the grandmother is a proud old southern woman and 'quite a spitfire at times' as he put it."

"When should I start?" He accepts what I've told him, and I'm glad when he doesn't question further.

"As soon as you can."

He seems to consider it for a second. "First thing next week?"

"That will do." I say before hanging up, and leave Sookie only momentarily to drink a couple of glasses of blood, then go about passing time until sunrise. Godric had been in the upstairs library, and he doesn't disturb us as he makes his way to his bedroom.

I lie awake for a while, longer than normal, entertaining thoughts of the future as I hold Sookie close. "Soon, dear one." I tell her, before going to rest with her held into my side.

When the sun is about an hour from setting, my eyes open and I look her over in the habit I'm quickly developing. Her mind is buzzing as she's awaiting the nighttime, and even though I feel he is up, Godric does not come in. He had been present for Pam's turning, as in that time we had not yet been revealed and he stood guard over us each night, even though I hadn't even called him. Later he told me that as soon as it was reported that I had not returned from vising a brothel, he had come to find me, and instead followed my scent to a fresh grave site where he could smell me and another beneath the earth. I'd been shocked to wake during that first night underground and sense my maker standing six feet above me, not that it wasn't nice to have it be his trusted hand that pulled mine from the dirt.

Now as I examine our aged bond, it seems that he is not intruding as he no longer feels it to be his place, nor does he want to unsettle Sookie I'm sure.

I'm patient, unmoving as I count the seconds going by, steadily pacing through the time until the night is prevalent outside.

The first thing I notice is her mind, seeming to open up slowly as though she were merely asleep, and I run a hand down her arm as I lean over her. A small smile graces her lips, and she is sort of feeling out our bond, getting used to it before sending me a sort of mental hug. "Hej lilla fe." I whisper to her without thought, and she smiles a bit more as I can tell she understands me.

"Min riddare i skinande rustning." I'm shocked at her use of Swedish, and her eyes open to stun me in place. They were a nice soft brown before, but now they are flecked with gold and seem endless as she blinks up at me.

"Prova Viking i skinande rustning." I tell her, and place at kiss to her lips, which she eagerly responds to.

"I have a gift for languages." She mutters when I release her, and Godric may not be intentionally hearing us, but I feel that his interest is suddenly blooming. Her lips meet mine again unexpectedly, and I growl softly above her as I reciprocate, her hands burying themselves into my hair to pull slightly and make me consider barring the door. Seeming to realize that she can do so, a rumble starts in her own chest, and I can feel a strong hunger rising in her as my chest is flush against hers. Sinking into the mattress, her growl lightens to practically a purr, and one of my hands rubs over her hip while the other arm supports my weight to lean over her. When the click from her fangs is heard a minute later, we both freeze and she pulls back slightly panting. "I've got to learn to control that." She says lightly, grinning as her eyes flick over my face, and I stare down at her with awe. "I'm glad I get along with my maker mate though."

"I am most impressed that you are even able to stop yourself." Letting her push me back slightly, I stay close as she moves, and glances around the room as she puts her back to the pillows to sit beside me.

"I was conscious for a little while yesterday, even though I couldn't move or anything. You had a conversation with Sam and Lafayette and then it was quiet for a while since you got a shower. It gave me some time to think and sort things out for a while, and then I was back asleep." Her voice is nearly inaudible, and I put my arm around her shoulders before using my other hand to tilt her chin up to me. Going over the numerous conversations and phone calls I had, I grin down at her, alleviating a slight worry she was feeling.

"I'm sorry I didn't know, or I would have done something more entertaining for you to listen to." There it is. Her laugh. It's small and hardly more than a chuckle, but it's the most incredible thing in the world. I hide the urge to hear it again, but she knows that I enjoy it.

"Thank you for explaining it to them, and don't worry about Lafayette, I know he isn't dealing V anymore."

Arching an eyebrow at her, she seems to shrink slightly as I feel that she is uncomfortable not with me, but with what she is about to tell me. "I am a telepath." It's quiet, her eyes darting away and a deep rooted but subtle fear rising through her.

"Why are you afraid? Nothing in my thoughts should scare you." She looks up at me, and for the first time I feel a strange presence at the edge of mind, as though it's looking for a way in.

"I can't hear you." Her voice makes it sound like she's mesmerized with a distant gaze, and I stare down at her, slightly unnerved. "I can't hear vampires." She clarifies, seeming to realize this for the first time, and continues to look up at me as I give her a reassuring nudge in the bond. "When I was little, I couldn't control it. Blurting out people's thoughts all day, at any random times when I got overwhelmed, and after long enough I was nicknamed 'Crazy Sookie' by most of Bon Temps. Growing up different in a small town can be quiet a cruel thing." My blood wants to boil while she goes quiet as she feels it, and oddly enough that calms me back down while I pull her into my lap.

"Should you be referred to as such in my presence, it will not be repeated." I tell her calmly and soundly, my thumb rubbing circles where I'm lightly gripping her arm.

We don't move for a while, her content to be held.

"When will I be able to see Gran again? She'll want to have a small party since I'm technically married now." She asks distantly, and she hurries further as she feels my doubt. "Gran knows that at any time I could bond to someone, and leave, we had a long conversation about it after Niall came to us the first time. When you talked to Sam yesterday he said that she was taking it pretty well, and she had practice letting me go already when I went to fearie for a bit."

Thinking it over, I haven't made a decision yet when Godric is suddenly at our door, and she doesn't notice as it seems her full attention is on me. While that pleases me, I know that it is unacceptable for her to be so unaware, and Godric seems to be reading my mind.

The loud growl outside the door causes her to freeze against me, pressing into my side as it swings open.

"Should a vampire my age decide he wanted to end you, he would have already done so." She nods, taking his lesson despite not knowing him yet.

He stands before the bed a second later, unnerving her as she leans away from his sudden presence. "This is my maker, Godric. You should listen to him as you would me. He can feel you, and you should be able to feel him if you try." I relay quietly into her ear, and she leans back against my chest, staring at Godric just like he is doing to her.

She seems to be trying to figure something out, and I feel her tense slightly against me as she suddenly looks between us several times. "I spent almost a year in fearie with Niall, and since time moves differently, it only seemed like a few months went by here. He taught me about a lot of the supernatural community, which ended up being more or less history lessons for a couple of months. One day I was browsing the library with Lockland, one of my cousins, and he's only about six hundred years younger than Niall. There was a piece that mentioned a skirmish between several different groups of fae on earth, which ended when the fighting continued into the night. A vampire came across them all, and of course they were already tired from fighting all day, so they didn't stand a chance." I can feel it from Godric when she gives him a hard look. "962 A.D., in the west most area of what is now Poland."

I'd say he's almost embarrassed as he shifts his eyes away from her for a second, blocking his end of our bond, and I'm surprised when she suddenly laughs. It's like music to my ears, but I don't have time to really think it over before she starts speaking. She shakes her finger at him jokingly, surprising me with her sudden stroke of boldness. "Lockland said if I ever met you, I should run for a portal."

"I was a different vampire in those days." He says, and I notice the darkness that seems to be seeping out from him, a chill running up Sookie's back in response which he notices. "Don't worry little fae, I have no interest in harming you, nor do I think I could get close enough even if I wanted to. My child may be a fraction of my age, but he is strong and will hold you closer than his own heart."

"He really wants to win you brownie points." Her lighthearted joke makes me laugh slightly, and despite my doubt that he would do so, Godric grins.

"He does not lie." I tell her, tilting her back by the chin to kiss her, and growling when my phone rings at the stereotypical wrong moment.

"You said not to bother you, but I believe we may have a serious problem."

"What?" I demand, and Sookie is staring up at me with my face just inches from hers, but she is calm and closes her eyes to press herself against my chest. My arms wrap around her, my pleasure at this only slightly lightening the mood I'm being put into as I listen to my eldest child. "Wait until I tell you what to do." I say when Pam is done, and hang up.

"It would seem that someone is progressively stealing from the bar. Whoever is responsible has been covering their tracks until Bruce, our accountant, noticed a repeated mistake in the bar numbers and fixed all of the changes. We are missing roughly fifty thousand dollars." Godric arches an eyebrow and glances at Sookie.

"Are we leaving? She is much more controlled than normal vampires. I think she would do fine at your bar." Nodding, I pull her up from the bed with me, and move towards the closet while Godric heads towards his room.

"I will let Dominic know to come to the bar." He says as he's out the door.

Sending pam the silent order to close the bar, she confirms it a second later, and I feel her getting annoyed as she ushers humans out.

"Where are we going?" Sookie asks absentmindedly as she starts leafing through the clothes Pam had hung up and put away for her.

"I own a bar in Shreveport; Fangtasia. It is where I conduct most of my Sheriff business."

She nods, and seems to understand as I assume Niall told her about our power structure. Gathering together her outfit, she goes to lay it on the bed before moving towards the bathroom when I feel playful. There's only pleased surprise coming from her when she's pressed to the wall before she knows what's happened, my hand cupping the side of her neck as I give her a kiss, and she relaxes as I press myself against her. "Do you know how old I am?"

Shaking her head, she leans up to put another kiss to my lips, her tongue flicking over my fang and eliciting a growl. "Is my maker strong enough to keep me from being taken away?" Her words are an obvious tease, nothing more, but it still rubs me slightly wrong as I dart in to nip her throat delicately.

"I have a thousand years of strength to keep you from getting away, whether by taken force or on your own."

"Who says I'm ever gonna run?" She breathes into my ear, and I wrap my arms around her back.

"I do believe you'll find that running can be quite exhilarating depending on who is chasing after you." I feel her shiver, and bring her head to my own neck with a slight shift. "Bite straight down. Slow but steady." Commanding her only slightly, she considers my words and there's a slight hesitation before her fangs drop a second later. I feel as she resolves to listen to me, the snick and prick of the points making me feel an anticipation I don't think I've ever had before. Kissing down the curve of her neck, I stop at her shoulder, and she feels that I'm waiting as I rest the points of my own teeth against her.

When she bites, I'm surprised by the slightly euphoric feeling I get, which seems to be matched by her and her arms twist up to clench her fingers in my hair. My teeth sink in, and the only thing I can compare her to is the taste of honey from when I was human. She moans against my neck, hunger suddenly taking control of her as she pulls harshly for a minute, her teeth tearing my skin slightly. Grabbing her through the bond, I try to bend her to my will, telling her to slow and calm down. To say I'm surprised when she resists is nothing compared to how I feel when she growls loudly, holding herself tightly against me as she suddenly rises up and locks her legs around my waist. Not that I don't enjoy it when she breaks from my neck only for a second to say 'You are mine' before licking up my skin and teasing the area gently, locking on.

Licking the marks on her shoulder, they close an instant later, and I purr into her ear. "Lover, you must not be so fierce with a human donor, and I have blood in the kitchen you need to drink. Mine may be good, but it won't keep you strong in the long run. Your saliva will heal if you wish it to." I inform her.

Through the bond she gives me a warm stroke, and giggles a minute later as she licks the deep marks. "You taste like… I can't even describe it." She leans away from me, a wide grin on her face as I smile, looking down at her blood stained fangs.

"It would seem that enough of my blood will make you high." I chuckle, before moving at high speed to stand her in the bathroom next to the spacious walk in shower with clouded glass doors and walls. "Enjoy the water." Adjusting it to the right temperature, I turn back as water emerges from the all-around jets, and she gives me a wide eyed look feeling suddenly embarrassed.

"You're the first." Her voice seems to surprise herself, and I feel extremely satisfied as I take that in, giving her a grin and holding her to my chest as I give her a long kiss. She's quickly getting keyed up again, and I pull back, turning her towards the water.

"Get in, I'll leave your clothes on the counter. Best I don't see you at the moment anyhow, since I doubt I could stop myself from making Godric and Dominic wait several more hours."

As soon as I'm out the door I can hear her undressing and then stepping into the water. Bliss rings through her and I can feel it, encouraging it in the bond as I give her a nice touch. I admire the skewed figure I can see through the distorted barrier as I deposit her clothes onto the dry counter and put a towel within reach of the shower door. She enjoys the water for a long time, before I tell her that we need to get moving, and I soon hear the hairdryer before she comes out fully dressed. I decide the dark designer jeans she's wearing were worth the price, and admire her accentuated curves, the bottom of her shirt dropping just below her waist made of several layers of flowing red fabric skillfully sown together. A blush would likely be covering her face if she were still human as she sees me looking her over.

"You are very distracting." I say absentmindedly, and she smiles, feeling warm inside which makes me want to compliment her more as I bask in that warmth.

She flits to the closet, returning with a pair of nice tennis shoes before balancing on one foot at a time to get them on. Godric appears in the bedroom door a second later, making Sookie slightly jump, and we go upstairs as I show her how to open and then shut the hidden stairs.

The scent of the blood bags being opened as I pour her a glass is like a light switch, breaking her mid-sentence from her small talk with Godric. She watches every move I make robotically, and Godric is amused as she finishes glass after glass faster than I can warm them properly. After she is satisfied, she rinses the glass in the sink and feels slightly embarrassed as she notices Godrics smiling towards her.

"You are taking to all of this quite well."

She's stopped up by his words, and gives him a smile a moment later. "It feels right." He looks surprised by that, but doesn't comment further as I show her around the whole upstairs quickly before we walk outside. Looking towards the detached garage as I secure the front door, she gives me an expectant look.

"We're not driving." I tell her, and she accepts this as she assumes we will be running.

Holding my hand out to her with an over exaggerated flourish, she takes it with a giggle, glancing at Godric as she tries to figure out what I'm doing. She squeaks in surprise when I shoot up, pulling her up by her hand in mine so that I can hoist her into my arms, and she takes a few quick unnecessary breaths as she looks around hurriedly. "You are kidding me." Her voice is airy, and she looks at Godric with surprise when he appears next to us. "Like father like son." The joke makes me laugh, and I give him a sly look, his agreement coming from the bond as we go higher slowly.

"Sookie." I say, and she looks up at me, a small smile on her face. Giving her a quick kiss, she accepts it, but through the bond I can tell that she knows I'm up to something and is suspicious.

A shocked feeling goes through her when I suddenly drop her, and she only goes about ten feet before Godric catches her. Something akin to outrage is directed to him, but he cuts her off before she can speak. "I hope you can fly." He releases her before she can grab him, and starts falling again. To my surprise, she suddenly disappears with a pop, and I twist around as I look for her on the ground far below. I growl loudly when arms are wrapping around my neck from behind, and I recognize the feel of her as she locks her legs around my waist.

"Can't fly, but I can still teleport." Laughing into my ear, she seems to think of something. "Have you ever been teleported before?"

"No, why do you ask?" She's definitely scheming something, and I decide to go along with it.

"Godric, have you ever been teleported?"

"Very few times." He answers from across us, and there's a knowing look on his face.

"So what is the joke here?" Her emotions are lighthearted as she thinks over my question, and finally gives Godric a look before he disappears and her lips start at my neck as she leans over my shoulder.

I move my hands beneath her thighs to hold her up behind me while I grin. "What are you doing?" A tingling feeling goes through me when she sucks and nibbles with blunt teeth, my fangs dropping.

"Do you have an office at Fangtasia?" She asks, and I'm thrown off track but she feels the affirmative from me. "Picture it in your head, what it should look like right now. I think that if you push your thoughts towards me, I'll be able to hear, so try to show me what it would look like if you stood in the center of the room and turned in a circle."

Doing my best to follow her directions, I sort of think towards her in the bond, picturing my office in perfect detail from memory. I sense it through her as she sees it, seeming to memorize everything, before she nudges to tell me that she's got it.

Suddenly it feels like I'm being dragged through the air by some unseen force at a speed I can't fathom, becoming extremely disoriented as the ground is suddenly beneath me. Falling to my knees a second later, I put my hands to the floor as I try to steady myself, a strange floating sensation fogging my mind. Someone is rubbing their hands over my back, and I snarly warningly as I shake my head slightly, trying to clear the distorted feeling. Sookie's scent registers at the same time as I recognize it's her next to me, her hands pushing soothing circles into my clenched back. "You'll get used to that." She says lightly, wearing a wide grin when I turn to face her and see that she is trying not to chuckle. "It's also payback for how you showed me that you and your maker could fly."

Standing, I give her an amused look and the door opens before I say anything.

"He dropped you didn't he?" Pam asks, and Sookie looks at her surprised.

"This is Pam, your older sister. But you are my bonded, and she will respect you as well as do what you say." I say the last part pointedly, looking at Pam as she appraises Sookie with indifference.

"Yes, he dropped me, and then Godric caught me and dropped me again." My mate says, and I grin in such a way that only these two and Godric will likely ever see.

"It felt like he was almost knocked out. What did you do to him?" She asks curiously, and Sookie laughs, flashing me a wicked grin.

"I teleported him for the first time. It's very unsettling until you get used to it."

The laugh that Pam barks is loud, and she smirks at me. "She's perfect for you. I also need you to do chair time tonight, as the vermin are restless without you around."

"Dominic should be arriving at some point, as well as Godric, so clear out any vampires from my private table next to the stage." Appearing behind my desk, I write down an account number and several lines of details in an instant, handing the paper to Pam. "Go down to the bank and talk to Mark. Give him this, tell him to call me if he needs to, and wait for him to give you the paperwork. Shouldn't take long so clear the tables first and leave Longshadow in your place at the door. Put Ginger behind the bar." I break from my line of thought as Sookie taps my shoulder, and Pam feels surprised that she would interrupt me, but I don't feel bothered in the slightest as I look at her.

"I can serve drinks, if you want. That was what I mostly did at Merlotte's, and I think it'll work out much better since that girl Ginger is like Swiss cheese in the head. You should really try not to glamour her so much." Cracking a smile, I look at Pam.

"She is rather difficult to rely on as of late." Pam chimes in, and I raise an eyebrow, looking between them.

"Pam, why don't you take care of retiring Ginger? Set her up since I doubt she'd be able to function doing anything else for work. Hire someone you like to replace her." Looking at me with slight surprise, she gives Sookie a happy look a second later.

"You might not be bad to have around." She says looking at the short blond with my arm around her shoulders, standing comfortably against my side.

"I also want a chair for her found, something similar to my own. Go on." I tell her, and she takes off through the door.

"Should I head out to the bar?" Sookie asks, moving to stand in front of me, her arms loosely wrapped around my waist.

"If you must." I tease, pecking her lips with my own. "I will be keeping an eye on you, so I will know if you want to take a break at any time. You may rest on my lap as much as you want." She chuckles at my smirk, tapping her finger to my nose, and I snap at the digit playfully.

"I have plenty of experience blocking out loud intrusive thoughts. Don't worry, you fed me less than half an hour ago, so I feel like I'll be fine for a while. If I have to I will drink something behind the bar." Nodding, I walk toward the door with her hand clasped in mine.

"Drink the bottles of Royalty Blend if you want anything." I tell her, and let my face get stoic as we move down the hallway to come into view. People push together, keeping their distance but straining to see me and their attention slowly turns to Sookie as they realize I am walking her to the bar which Longshadow just vacated. Putting a kiss to the back of her hand, I let her go as she steps behind the polished counter, and I flash up to my chair before locking my eyes to her.

It doesn't take long for her to look around, learning where everything is, and once she does so she starts serving drinks. There's only a second which she takes to memorize the price sheet and breaks stride, before she's right back at it. Something occurs to me as I notice that lots of previously passive humans are now buying drinks. I notice the men trying to catch her eye, and walking away with a slight disappointment when she barely passes them a glance. There's great satisfaction for me in the fact that she only seems fazed when her eyes meet mine, a small grin pulling at her mouth when it happens every few minutes. Many of the humans who are downing their drinks keep looking between the two of us, the ones just coming in looking at only her with curiosity as they didn't witness our entrance.

Many assume that I don't care about the things being said or discussed in the groups of people, the mask I wear completely unyielding as far as any of them know. But I do listen, and I remember with disdain that this is Saturday night, which is usually the most bothersome with the college that had opened just four blocks away two years ago. Usually only Longshadow worked the bar on this night as the idiotic 'fraternity brothers' would often challenge each other to do things if there was a female bartender present. Sure enough within another twenty minutes a large round table near the bar has been filled by men in letter jackets, several scantily clad woman attached to several of their arms. I'm surprised when Sookie suddenly comes up to the bar, a tall glass of dark red in her hands.

"I noticed you hadn't drank anything but me yet tonight. Your Royalty Blend is extra special." She says with a wink, placing the glass into my hand before she kisses my cheek. "Don't worry about any of the men, I'm already thinking of ways to handle them." at vampire speed to be behind the bar again. The fangbangers around the stage look everything from outraged to envious, and I take a sip of my drink, detecting a hint of her blood, and knowing she must have sneakily mixed a few drops in. Downing the glass, I set it on the stage beside me and Ginger returns it to the bar a minute later. The frat boys are self-absorbed, seeming to ignore the obvious warning that had been broadcasted when I hadn't reacted to her approaching, touching and kissing me. The vampires certainly picked up on it as they are appraising her with a newfound interest, as even Pam wouldn't dare to do those things without receiving permission first.

With Sookie though, I feel almost flattered that she had thought about the fact that I hadn't drank even as I could tell she was busying herself serving drinks and reading minds. Thinking it over, there isn't any time I wouldn't want to have her beside me, and I nearly growl when my attention is pulled to the young man standing from the frat boys table and heading towards the bar. Remembering what she said though, I watch with interest as I wonder what she is going to do. He orders eight beers, and finally shakily takes a deep breathe. "Would you want to go… um… somewhere, with me?"

Her eyes light up as she turns to see Godric come in from the back entrance, and step out of the hallway not far from the bar. Giving her a look, he is indifferent despite the fact that I feel he is curious, and he takes a seat at the roped off table by the stage as he scans the crowd.

"So you want some alone time with me?" She asks the nervous kid, looking back at him, and he nods his head as she sets drinks in front of him. Scribbling something on a piece of paper, she hands it to him and pointedly doesn't look at me as he takes the folded paper and drinks back to his table. His buddies' crowd around him as he shakily unfolds the paper, and silence envelopes the group as they all read. A second later one of them claps him on the shoulder, and several others bust out laughing as they hoot, holler and jeer him on. I'm intensely curious as to what is going on now, and I can tell that Godric is also paying attention as the young man in his oversized letter jacket starts to look up towards me with a stricken expression as my lip twitches up to bare a fang at him. "Oooooh!" The guys behind him say all together as their friend pales, and Sookie looks them over with a wide grin as she is amused, giving me a wink before she serves several drinks quickly.

His knees practically knocking, the human who she gave the paper to comes slowly towards me, and stops at the base of the stage glancing nervously at Godric for a second. "I'm knock, knock, knocking on deaths door?" He says uncertainly, and I have to lock myself down to keep from cracking a grin as I look at Godric, who also has to control himself. She obviously knows his old nickname, and is laughing unashamedly loud as she stands behind the bar.

"What did I miss?" Pam asks Sookie as she appears at the bar, and she quickly relays it. "We need to hang out more." She remarks, taking the large packet in her hands back to my office as she looks up at me with a smirk.

"Boy." Godric says, catching the college kid's attention and he looks as my maker. "You know of his reputation?" He asks, motioning to me, and the human nods stiffly. "I am the one who made him." A sort of shadow seems to fall over the ancient, light appearing to be sucked away from the space around him as a chill creeps through the air to the already shaky man in front of us. Quite a few of the vampires present are muttering that he is protecting my lover, and I almost consider a cocky smirk as I stand up and step away from my chair.

"You and your friends would do well to keep from being a bother to my youngest child. Either she will defend herself should she gets tired of your shenanigans, or I will put an end this problem. What would you like to do?" There's only a second before he is scurrying back to his chair, and I see that Sookie is still grinning behind the bar. Mentally she starts singing a song to me, and it sounds like Godric can also hear her as he holds firm to his mask of boredom.

Sitting back down, I speak at a volume that only the vampires can hear. "My bonded Sookie is not to be bothered, only defended." She looks at me happily surprised for a second, washing me in a comforting emotion as she smiles softly and takes several orders at once. Every vampire in the room subtly nods one by one, even Longshadow catches my eye to incline his head, and it's only a few hours later when Dominic arrives. His guard carries a chair for him up to the stage while he tells Pam to clear out the humans, and she gets a confirmation from me before she starts doing so. Taking his seat, he is surprised when Sookie appears in the chair Pam had placed for her, having teleported to be next to me.

"You are interesting." He says, and her mouth twitches into a small smile as she instantly likes him.

"This is my child, Sookie. I wondered when you would show up. Might I ask why the club has been closed though?" Pulling out a thick envelope, he hands it to me, and Sookie lays back across my lap to let me use her stomach as a table. Finding several smaller envelopes inside, I look into the first one before looking at him and inclining my head.

"A vampire is only late when it's on purpose." He says, a strange tone to his voice as if he's quoting someone. "I gave you half the night to make at least some of your money."

"My thanks." Handing the thinner packet to Sookie she looks at it and then me. "He got your new ID, and other important documents for you already." She takes out the card, not seeming phased as her last name is now Northman, but I feel it as she taps the bond to draw my attention.

 _If you tell my Gran that I already changed my name, I won't let you bite me for a week._ Her mental voice is stern, and I almost chuckle as I get over the surprise of receiving such a clear distinct message from her. "Thank you." She says to Dominic, and his lips twitch into a small smile.

He glances at me for only a second before looking at her while I look through the second envelope. It is our certificate of bonding, and a copy of all of her registration paperwork for my personal files. "So what's this?" I ask suspiciously as I eye the last thick envelope, no idea what it could be.

"The club was closed tonight so that the Queen may be tried here. Along with Bill Compton. My men should already be on their way with my newest prisoners. That paperwork is the claim I filed with the authority, and the results of the emergency session we held. We collaborated with Niall, since he contacted us, and an edict was put into place to be announced tonight. An official with the AVL will be arriving here with them to report on events per the authority's decision to document everything, but I don't know how you would know that ahead of time." His wink is comical, and I start reading through the papers.

Once we've gone over a few details, he goes to the bar where Longshadow is waiting to serve him and his men any drinks they want, and I take Sookie back to my office. Tipping out the contents of the packet that Pam left, I hand first a debit card to her, and then a phone that Pam had thought to get while she was out. "This is your phone. This is your allowance card as my child, and once a month ten thousand dollars will be automatically added in. The address you should use for online shopping or anything is the one on your ID. Let me know if you want to make any big purchases, and if you want to know any of my account balances or anything, the statements are on my laptop which you are open to. Debit cards in my wallet if you want to surprise me." I smirk playfully, and she scrunches her nose as she thinks of something.

"Why would I want to know all of your money stuff?"

"Your name will be added to all of my things once I fill out the paperwork, so you should know what you are going to be privy to." The look on her face says it all, and she swats my shoulder with the envelope in her hand.

"How dare you make me a millionaire." She mumbles a second later, and I chuckle whispering in her ear.

"Multi billionaire actually." I inform her quietly, and her eyes widen in shock as I lean back to look down at her with a grin that I can't help.

"Never let it be said I married you for your money."

"No kidding. You didn't even know my name when you bonded to me, let alone my value." Giving me a hard look, she pushes her debit card and phone into her pocket.

"I swear you better never tell anyone that." She mock threatens.

"Or what?" I challenge, and she rolls her eyes exasperated.

"I don't know… I'll come up with something." Her mind is working on something, and I smile, taking her hand and leading us back out to the bar floor where I see that Bill Compton is standing just inside the main entrance with silver cuffs sizzling against his wrists.

"The queen resisted to the level that she had to be subdued and taken straight to the authority for sentencing. We already have all of the proof, so this would have been a formality anyway." Dominic tells us, standing behind the podium that was moved into place on stage.

"You are all gathered here so that I may sentence one Bill Compton on the crime of procurement." It doesn't faze any in the room. "How do you plead?"

"Not guilty." Bills says, moving to say more but he is cut off by the Magister.

"You do not have a say in this." He snaps, and all is quiet as he starts writing something down. A tension in the bond gets my attention as I notice it, and I realize Sookie is completely stiff beside me. It feels as though she is doing something with her telepathy, and I glance around the room, noting that only Bill seems to be looking at her.

All at once it snaps, and it's like an instant relief as she breaks through whatever she had been pushing against. "You!" She says suddenly, and I all eyes fall to her as she takes an unconscious step forward, her hands fisted at her sides as she stares daggers at the civil war soldier. Her mind seems to be whipping all over, and she leaves only to return to herself several times as she focuses all around the room. But her main attention is the dark haired one in chains.

"Sookie?" Godric asks, stepping up beside Dominic.

A deep pain surges through her, something mental as it feels like she has come to some sort of revelation, and I pull her shaking frame into my arms.

"Sookie!" My voice betrays my indifferent mask as I pull her into my arms, trying to overcome the mental pain she is feeling. I don't miss it when Godric winces as the blow had resonated through her to us, and neither does several others, but we both silently agree to discuss it another time.

"What is the meaning of this?" Dominic says, and I almost stop her when Sookie seems to get a fire in her chest.

The pain she is feeling is quickly turning to rage, something I hadn't felt from her yet, and I feel Godric blocking her as she provokes his own reaction. Myself, I don't care, and growl right alongside her as she looks at the Magister.

"I have a new charge for you to put against him." Her voice is different than I've ever heard, cold and bitterly dangerous as it almost puts a chill down my back, and I listen carefully as I caress the bond. "He is responsible for the death of a royal fae princess." All of the vampires present stare at her incredulously, and despite her anger, she smiles sadly at Dominic. "He glamoured two backwoods trash humans to beat an innocent girl who had done nothing but show him kindness. In a town full of bigots, she was the only one who showed him something other than hate, and in return he endeavored to drown her in his blood in order to take her and sell her to the highest bidder." Even to a roomful of vampires such a thing is looked down upon, and many are now looking at him in disgust.

"How do you know?" Dominic questions, and I give her a push, knowing it is too late to back down now.

"Because it was me. My last name when I was living was Stackhouse, but it should have been Brigant." She sure knows how to make a statement, since everyone here instantly recognizes the title, and she wraps an arm around me while looking at Dominic. "What you said earlier about vampires being on time made me realize it. He did not account for the fact that those two humans were V addicts, and didn't realize how much damage they were really doing to me. Eric saved me when it was too late to be healed, and I bonded with him using my light because I sensed that he was meant to be mine. Then he turned me." His hand is flying over the page on the podium, writing everything down.

Thinking over it, I realize how much differently the night would have likely gone if Bill had not been involved. I would have still noticed her scent when I passed over, and I can only imagine the rest as I try to picture how things would have gone if I'd just walked into the restaurants front door to meet her there.

"Bill tried to approach us right after I had fed her my blood, but left when I warned him to stay away. Having an injured and freshly turned bonded child on my hands was the most important thing to me at the time, and I did not really consider why he would even be there." I say, and Dominic nods, taking it all down.

"I found her first!" Bill suddenly shouts, and I can almost see the air around the stage freeze.

"What did I say about speaking?" He demands, and the chained vampire can't respond before the door to the club slams open.

"What has he done?" Sookie is caught off guard by the intrusion, and I'm surprised when she pulls herself in, taking control of the rage she was feeling a moment before.

"Who the fuck are you?" Dominic asks the red haired woman who steps up by Bill. She looks at him pleadingly, her nasally voice visibly bothering more than just myself.

"I am Lorena. What has my William done? I will take his punishment." The clingy sleek purple gown she wears is heinous on her, making her look sickly pale and bringing out the shadows beneath her eyes.

A bark of a laugh comes from Godric, surprising everyone, and Sookie looks at him as he speaks for her. "Your fool of a spawn took up the position of procurer in the queen's court, targeted the innocent daughter of Niall Brigant, and caused her death. She bonded herself to my child before dying, and he turned her, which Mr. Compton tried to intrude on no sooner than the blood stopped flowing. Furthermore he defied the Magister's order not to speak, and I will see to it myself that he reaps what he has sown." She is stunned, blinking with her mouth slightly open before looking at her progeny next to her, and then to Sookie for a long moment.

When her eyes flit back to the Magister, she has a small smile on her face. "Is this a joke? The little fae girl teased him with her very presence."

The tension is back on Sookie's end of the bond again, a disbelieving laugh leaving her. Godric turns to look at her just as I do the same, and Lorena looks furious that my bonded would laugh. "Dominic." Her voice is in a pleasant sing-song voice, positively innocent except for the feral look in her eyes that gives her away, and it feels like she is tearing into something with her mind suddenly. "I am a telepath." She says, and it doesn't escape my notice that she no longer feels anything negative about admitting this. I wonder if she could have been holding herself back with her next words. "Would you like to get another piece of paper as I start to list the crimes that Lorena can be brought up on? I don't know the vampire laws very well, but I could always just start repeating things she's thinking as she's now getting more and more nervous and worrying about this and that. Oh this is quite easy, now that I really try it." She says, seeming to pick up some of the vocabulary of the other vampire as I reach through her, trying to feel what she's doing as she does it. Sensing my intent, she pulls me in, trying to show me as she worms her way through Lorena's mind.

I see it, as I sort of synchronize with Sookie, the other vampires mind is open to us, and it seems like we're standing in an endless room while things float around in bubbles. Sookie goes slower, seeming to focus more on what the vampire is currently thinking, and I realize that she is following the easy thoughts while also focusing mainly on visualizing everything in a way that she can relate to me. There's a long list in her train of thought, getting longer as she adds things to it from the red haired woman's mind. "I will vouch for anything she says." I say in a dazed tone, and absently I see Dominic nod, lifting his hand and signaling for the guards to take her from running. She fights for a second, before giving in and standing in their hold next to her child.

Sookie starts speaking, and I see she is starting at the top of her list and working downward, she vocalizes everything with small pauses between offenses. Her voice is detached from any emotion, and her mind is the same, reading facts for what they are and not giving them any more than a second's response as she accepts what can't be changed and moves on. Subtly, I start going through the vampires memoires that have been laid out for me to examine, and I push different ones to her.

When I pull back, she lists off a few final things, and then falls silent as she presses into my side feeling strangely tired. It's odd for a vampire to feel something like that, and I evaluate the amount of strength she just used, stunned that she was capable of as much at her age. "Telepathy is one of the fae traits she retained, and it is quite taxing when she uses it that way. Normally she only hears humans and weres." Knowing that she will need to feed soon, I pick her up bridal style, and she curls against my chest with her eyes closed as she suddenly feels very small.

Dominic nods, a broad grin on his face, and continues to write for several more seconds before looking up to address the crowd. "Anyone have anything to add before I pass judgement?"

Sookie whispers something to me mentally, and I look back up at the stage where my maker and our powerful ally stand. "When trial is done, my bonded would like to say something." Dominic nods, looking back at Lorena with a grin.

"With this many offenses, and many of them committed alongside your child, I will have you both sentenced to the true death." It's no surprise to the area vampires on looking, and a guard with gloves moves to put silver chains on Lorena. "You will be taken to my prison." He says with finality, and the two vampire are escorted out even as Bill's eyes don't leave Sookie. "Now then, Mrs. Northman? Did you have something you wished to say?"

"Magister." It's the opposite of earlier, as she now wishes for nothing more than to rest, and she doesn't move as she is heard by all of the vampires. "Take a good look at where I am." She says with a warm inflection, and Dominic has a slightly envious look to him as he evaluates her position in my arms. "This is where I want to stay, with my bonded." The brush from her in the bond makes a tingling go from my toes to the top of my head, and I grin cockily for them all. "I wish for you to relay this to the Authority, in reassurance to your worries." He doesn't look as bothered as I thought he would be when we all realize she is listening in on him. "All I want in life… in my undead life, is to live peacefully. I won't actively seek out conflict. I won't use my abilities to harm others unprovoked, and I will do nothing to reveal myself to the humans. My whole life I have kept secrets, and I am happy to keep doing so, should I hear things that others do not want me to. I am no threat… Eric is mine, though, make no mistake about it." Her hand runs over my chest as she turns her head up slightly and opens her eye to look at me with a warm smile despite her voice having gone slightly sharper. "I am still a fae." She says, and I see the surprise on Dominic's face as I look up at him. "I still have my spark, and I claim the whole Gaul line for the Brigant crown. Understand that there will be no problems from here on out as long as none are created, and should you ever be in need of my telepathy, I would be happy to do so on a case by case basis. If you have any petty problems, then talk to my father Niall. Or Godric and Eric. Hell bug Pam if you want to, I don't care, just don't bother me and I won't bother you." She finishes, getting impatient as she tries to make her point, and I rub against the frustrated feelings in the bond to partially calm her in her irritated mindset. For a second I wonder what Dominic is thinking about the Authority.

"My dear is getting tired and thirsty." The comment is off hand, and Pam immediately goes to the bar to start warming several Royalty Blends. When I sense that Sookie is still slightly touching Dominic's mind, I realize it is probably the reason for her shortness. _You are already drained. Do not push yourself further._ I reason with her, ignoring the surprised looks of several vampires who didn't expect the 'My dear' verbal endearment, and a second later she relaxes against me. She's focused on me as much as she would to read a humans bare thoughts, and I can tell that it is just right to hear nothing from me while also using me to block everyone else. "We will be in my office." The two on stage don't react, Dominic writing some more as he finishes his report for the Authority, and Godric looking bored.

Settling down on the couch with her tucked under my chin, I am pleased that she doesn't move to protest my maneuvering her. Playing with her hair, I wait as Pam comes into the room and sets a tray of six Royalty Blend bottles on the side table. She doesn't remark on the position I'm in, knowing that likely no other would ever be in such a spot but my bonded, and she leave the room after giving me just a smile. Moving slowly up, Sookie positions herself in my lap as she starts drinking a bottle, her fangs dropping as soon as the blood hits her tongue. The second the bottles are empty on the table, she pushes herself against me and locks her lips to mine. Kissing down my jaw to my throat a second later, I growl encouragingly as she sucks without biting in several spots. My own fangs drop when hers slide in, and I almost moan against her at the feeling of the pulls as well as her lust fueling my own.

The sound of Pam's laughter outside the door keeps me from losing myself, and I realize that Sookie is absently still drinking at my neck for who knows how long. Rubbing my hand over the back of her head, she stops and starts licking until the marks heal, leaning back with a lopsided grin on her face. Able to tell she is allowed now Pam comes in, and Sookie looks at her giggling.

"What is the matter with her?" Pam asks, and Godric comes in a second later.

"She gets high from my blood if she drinks enough." Godric is surprised, looking on as she lays against my chest fiddling with my hair from the side.

"She is quite affectionate." He remarks.

"Only for Eric." Sookie's voice is whimsical and she doesn't even look at him while playfully teasing braids into my hair.


End file.
